This colorful Cold Pasta Salad with Fresh Basil Recipe makes great use of summer vegetables and allows them to shine without too many additional flavors to compete with. Ideal for hot days, as most of it can be put together in the morning, waiting until service to add the arugula, olive oil, salt and garnishes. This salad is lovely served with beautifully browned, roasted chicken pieces, which can also be served cold.
This delicious pasta salad recipe, comments, and photo were shared with my by Karen Calanchini, Food Stylist and Photographer, of Redding, CA.
Pasta Hints and Tips, Pasta Recipes, and more delicious Salad and Salad Dressing Recipes.
- 4 ounces Trecce dell-Orto pasta*
- 4 to 6 ounces cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 2 baby cucumbers, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup artichoke hearts, marinated, drained (reserve juice)
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups baby arugula, rinsed and crisped
- Good-quality olive oil, extra-virgin
- Coarse salt or sea salt and freshly-ground pepper
- Green onions (for garnish)
- Romano cheese (for garnish)
- Basil leaves, fresh, shredded**
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Prepare pasta according to package directions. In a colander, rinse the cooked macaroni with cold water, drain briefly so that the macaroni remains moist, and place in a large bowl. Learn How To Cook Pasta Properly.
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Cut cherry tomatoes in half, cut bell peppers and peeled cucumbers into small chunks, cut artichokes in half (if they are large), slice the green onions on an angle, and shred the cheese.
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Mix together the prepared tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, and artichoke hearts and place into a large bowl. You may hold at this time, covered, and put into the refrigerator until ready for service or continue with the recipe.
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Add baby arugula, dress with a small amount of olive oil, and a little of the reserved artichoke juice from the artichoke hearts; mix to lightly coat and then add salt and pepper to taste.
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Sprinkle green onions and shredded Romano cheese on top. Parmesan or Havarti cheese would also be nice with this salad. Put into a pretty serving bowl and garnish with torn basil leaves.
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Makes 2 to 3 servings.
* Treccee dell’Orto Pasta is a product of Italy. They are thin, twisted pasta tubes in colors of red, yellow, black, orange, and tan. Their color comes from red beet, carrot, spinach, and tomato.
** I used both purple and green basil leaves.
On a hot summer night cold pasta salad is always a winner. Mom and I made this video to show you how easy it is to make pasta salad.